Rian Johnson’s New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy Might Arrive as Early as 2020

It’s Friday. The news this week has been…not great, to say the least. So while this update from the wonderful world of Star Wars is not entirely official, it’s the sort of optimism we could all use at the end of yet another long week: Rian Johnson’s producing partner says we mightjust see the first installment in his new Star Wars trilogy by 2020. Maybe. Hard maybe.

Speaking with the Israeli site From the Grapevine (via /Film), producer Ram Bergman — who also worked on the highly uncontroversial and universally adored, ahem, The Last Jedi — offered a teensy update on Rian Johnson’s “completely new” Star Wars trilogy. Bergman reiterated that the new trilogy will also feature “all new characters,” which means no more Skywalker clan. To be honest, after nine films about this family, we’re excited to explore other corners of the vast galaxy far, far away.

When asked when the first film in the new trilogy will arrive, Bergman said:

I can’t tell you because we don’t know yet. Maybe in two years; it’s just in the early stages.

Last we heard, Johnson had yet to begin so much as writing the thing, so 2020 seems wildly optimistic. 2021 or 2022 (wow we’re really in the future now, huh) feels more correct, especially since Episode IX is scheduled for a December 2019 release. Again, this isn’t an official timetable, but sometimes it’s nice to dream, ya know?